Mono

60-SECOND REVIEWS

The sleeper hit of the season, and hopefully it will gain the attention and recognition it deserves as the season continues. The moe-blob, cute-girls-doing-cute-things genre has shifted over time and perhaps it's not as popular as it once was. But Mono is the first show in a long time that feels like a throwback to the late 2000s/early 2010s KyoAni moe blob takeover. If you still carry a torch for K-On and Nichijou, you should be watching Mono.

Animation: Bright, expressive. Punchlines are accentuated by characters going off-model in creative ways. Environments are vibrant in ways reminiscent of KyoAni shows. This is a lovely show ... to look at.

Characters: The cast we have been introduced to are cute, but full of personality and spirit--with moments of heart that leaves me with a lot of hope that this show will develop its cast in meaningful, emotional ways, though I seriously doubt the show has any plans for serious drama. There are plenty of boring casts in the SOL genre, but so far, I really like these characters, particularly Kiriyama (voiced by Aoi Koga, the VA for Kaguya-sama).

Sound: The OP/ED are lovely and standouts for the season.

Mono is funny, enhanced by expressive animation and voice acting. There's less focus on school and more on exploring this peaceful world while finding creative ways to take pictures. If you've been a fan of older Kyoto Animation works, Do It Yourself!!, or Yuru Camp, this is the perfect show to be watching this season.

Well, i was sure this was going to be extremely good because the manga was made by afro, then i checked the staff for the adaptation and realized i was about to start watching something out of this world, and in fact it is the case. Mono not only is going to be my anime of the season but probably anime of the year as well, even if we are still in spring, the amount of love put in this project is outstanding. Characters are fantastic, funny, relatable and all different, the animation is very cute and super well done, every animation frame is done ... by hand one by one, the twitter page of studio soigne is sharing the process every week proudly. The ost is very good, the background art is stunning and since every location exist in real life just like yuru camp, you can find out for yourself the level of detail and care put in them. Oh yea did i mention the staff is full of professionals with big projects in their back? the director worked on yama no susume, the composer worked on the ost for k on, thats the type of people working on the project, its like a dream. I have been watching anime for almost 20 years and works like this are the reason i love this medium. I am mad no one on the west is noticing this anime. Luckily in japan its doing very well in popularity together with zatsutabi. In conclusion this is a masterful adaptation and i find myself looking forward for a new episode every week. I love it so much. my vote is a full 9.5/10

If you’re a fan of Yuru Camp, then Mono might be right up your alley. It shares a similar relaxed, slice-of-life vibe that leans heavily on atmosphere and subtle character interactions. That said, for me, Mono never quite reached the same level of charm or engagement as Yuru Camp. At times, it felt a bit bland or uneventful by comparison.

That’s not to say Mono is bad—far from it. When each episode finally gets to its main focus or message, it can be genuinely entertaining and even a little rewarding. The issue, however, is the pacing. A large chunk of each episode feels like filler—slow-moving scenes ... that don’t add much, and often make the experience feel like it’s dragging on forever.

Still, I recognize that part of this could just be me. Maybe it’s my modern attention span craving more plot or faster development. This anime is clearly made to be laid-back, even meditative, and if that’s what you’re looking for, it might hit the mark better for you than it did for me.

In the end, Mono feels like a show aimed at a specific audience—one that I’m probably not part of. But if you enjoy the relaxing, low-stakes nature of something like Yuru Camp or the more character-driven episodes of K-On! (the ones that don’t focus on the music), then there’s a good chance you’ll find something to enjoy here.

Ratings: 7/10 (Critically rated), 6.5/10 (Personally rated).

Thanks for reading!